The purposes of the Downtown (D) zones (D-1-R, D-2, D-3, D-4, D-4-R, D-5, D-5-R, D-6, D-6-R, D-7, and D-8) are to provide for the orderly development and use of land and structures in areas the Comprehensive Plan generally characterized as:

Central Washington; or

Appropriate for a high-density mix of office, retail, service, residential, entertainment, lodging, institutional, and other uses, often grouped into neighborhoods with distinct identities.

The Downtown zones aim to create a balanced mixture of land uses by providing incentives and requirements for retail, residential, entertainment, arts, and cultural uses the Comprehensive Plan identifies as essential to a successful downtown, and by guiding and regulating office development.

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Development of property in the D zones is governed by:

General zone development standards and use regulations and those specific to a particular zone, including standards and conditions for physical development and uses, regardless of the geographic location of a property within the zone;

Location-specific regulations that apply to a property that is located in a sub-area specified in Subtitle I, Chapter 6 and has frontage on 1 or more of the sub-area’s designated street segments, regardless of the zone district in which the property is located;

Site-plan, design, massing, or review standards in a limited number of zones or sub-areas; and

An optional process for zones other than D-1-R or D-2 to achieve bonus density or to shift the location of required uses within a trading area, as specified in Subtitle I, Chapters 8 and 9.